News

New Sony Gear on the Way for Review – A6500, FE 70-200mm GM Lens, 2X Teleconverter!!

OH yeah, got some new gear on the way my friends 🙂 Not just any gear, but the NEW Sony A6500, NEW Sony FE 70-200mm f/2.8 GM OSS Lens, and the NEW FE 2X Teleconverter which is made exclusively for the 70-200mm GM lens.. Therefore, we are talking 70-200mm x 2 (teleconverter) x 1.5 (Crop Factor) = 210-600mm effective range!! That is some serious reach and should make for a lot of fun and some killer longer distance photography.

My 6 yr old girl Layla and I have been going snowboarding on Sunday’s at this local mountain near where we live. We signed her up for the snowboard club this year, so it’s the first time she has been on the slopes 🙂 Incredible fun to say the least, and a perfect opportunity to test out this new Sony gear in the real world.

I should be able to zoom in from a long distance away and capture killer frames in theory, so time will tell how well this particular set-up works for me. They also have snow tubing at the mountain, and lots of people everywhere, so a nice variety of subjects to photograph and take video of in general. I’m curious how well the A6500 will track high speed subjects at far distances using this set-up in particular.

I will be hand holding and also using a tri-pod for some of the video testing I’m thinking… I also want to snowboard, so perhaps the morning I will play on the slopes, then in the afternoon I will focus on testing the gear out as best I can given the conditions at the mountain.

Any specific testing you want me to do?

Please let me know below in the comments area if you would like me to do any specific testing that I might not normally do. I will do the lab testing, and real world testing as described above, and I have a request to take a few moon frames at max zoom. Other than that I will just be playing around as I normally do unless you request something in particular. If you let me know, I will try my best to deliver! I’m doing this work for you guys, so please don’t hesitate to ask questions, or put in a special request 😉

Closing Remarks

That is about it for this quick article, but please be sure to let me know what you think about the gear, and if you have any special requests. I’m always happy to help as best I can, and I’m really excited about testing the gear out in a few days.

Also, If your looking for a new Sony E-Mount lens and you have no idea where to start, or have an idea, but want more information, be sure to check out the lens articles I published on the manner…

Your support is greatly appreciated as we run this site in our spare time and are not paid. We can however, make a small commission if you click a product link that your interested in. That click will then give us credit if you choose to purchase any given item. This has no effect on the cost of the product, and is a simple way to give back to SonyAlphaLab.com for the effort and info we provide.

Meta

Donations Appreciatted

9 Comments

Hello Jay!
Please rent a Canon EF 70-200mm F2.8 IS ii to compare specially at 200mm F2.8 as that is one of the most popular options for our cameras right now. So far real life photos are not showing the Sony to be as good as the Canon but the latest DXO measurements show that it is so I would love to see that test.
Also, check for swirly bokeh asthat would be a deal breaker for me if it is really that swirly as some samples I have seen.
I have been holding on to my Canon waiting for the GM tests to show up.
Oh and please test on the A7Rii.
Thanks a ton!

I appreciate the requests Garbriel and I can compare against the 70-200mm f/2.8 L lens Version 1. I can’t get the version II while I have the other gear due to my renting cost limitations, but I will certainly try the GM lens on my A7r for full frame bokeh testing etc.. I will have to get the lens again in order to test it on the A7r II, so that will have to wait a little while unfortunately. Which lens adapter do you prefer for the Canon EF to E-Mount? I heard the Sigma MC-11 is awesome, but I have only used the Metabones units so far…

I only have the Metabones IV so not sure about the Sigma since I do not have any Sigma lenses, I prefer an adapter that is designed for all Canon lenses. I know people is having sucess with the Sigma but seems to be hit or miss depending the lens.
Version 1 of the Canon is pretty inferior to version 2 so dont think that comparison is as interesting. Sad that you cannot test it on the A7Rii now as it is the default pairing for it but still interested in seeing your test.
Thanks

The A6500 is in really high demand for sporting, and the 70-200mm GM lens is the best possible option. A lot of folks prefer the crop factor camera for sports, due to the extra reach advantage, and lower weight, although negligible these days… Also the focus speed is supposed to be even better on the A6500 than the A7r II, which I want to confirm… As far as the I agree comparing to the version I Canon Lens is not really worth while these days for most people… The order has been delayed on the Sony 70-200mm GM Lens, just to let you know. So, looks like another two weeks or so, we will have to wait…

EDIT: Sorry, the video previously linked in this comment was not for the GM lens, I removed link.

Thank you for your reviews…I greatly appreciate them. I have an NEX-7, yeah, I know an old camera. I biggest complaints are; overheating in video, poor low light pics and when bracketing for HDR you have to hold down the shutter – can’t use a remote or time delay shutter. Please tell me some of these issues have been corrected by Sony…since it is time to get a new camera.

Enjoy the slopes…and make sure you have a blast with your daughter – they grow up so fast.

Hi Chuck and thanks for the comments 🙂 I also have a Nex-7, but it’s broken, see here >> Now I have the Nex-6 and A7r, so don’t feel to bad about the older gear, it’s still an awesome camera! The low light performance and overheating issues have been resolved pretty much , except when recording in 4k on the A6300 I have heard. I never had an overheating issue myself though. Supposedly the A6500 is much better in that regard. The A6500 and A6300 perform the same in low light/ high ISO and it’s really good today! Focusing is also hugely improved over the Nex-7. Bracketing on my Nex-6 and A7r, still requires holding down the shutter button, but you can use an IR remote on the A6300 and 6500 to trip the shutter. I will test that for you when I get the camera, because I haven’t used that feature in a while.

I just found out my order will be delayed unfortunately due to Sony and the 70-200mm GM Lens shipment to BHPhoto. It’s now expected to arrive on the 11th at BH, so hopefully I get the gear by the 13th or so…

I will certainly enjoy the slopes and thanks again for the comments and questions,
Jay

Hi, wonderful to hear your new acquisition! I’ve been shooting 4k video on 6300 with the 18-200. Since a few weeks been trying successfully 4k video using the camera’s 2x zoom. I feel the result is really good without any pixelated edges. May be you could try that? It will be some 1200mm shots!

PS: I am surprised why there aren’t many reviews on the video quality using the camera’s in built zoom feature. I find them extremely usable as against a still shot using digital zoom. Pl enlighten the audience on this feature, afterall not every Sony mirror less owner can own super expensive GM lenses and teleconverters.
Thanks in advance

Hi Rajaram, I have used the zoom feature and have a video on it here: Sony A7r II – Customizing Buttons – Back Focus, Standard Center Button, and Zoom I agree that feature is barely ever used or mentioned by anybody. When recording video the quality loss is almost nothing, because it’s using the sensor area I believe, and not clear image zoom. I saw a video by Garry Friedman some time ago explaining this in great detail… I will try that feature for some 1200mm effective shots, and compare the IQ. with video 1080P video it has very little if any quality loss, because it uses the sensor area and crop factor effect as apposed to clear image zoom I believe per Gary…

Check out my RX10 III review for the super zoom effects as well, because I covered them in more detail with that camera recently…